Lasting-machine



(No Model) T. 0 BO.LGER. LASTING MAGHINE.

N0. 388,577. Patented Aug. 28, 1888.

N- Pumas. Wm. Wl'lh llglon. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS OBOLGER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM S. KING, OFMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

LASTlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 388,577, dated August28, 1888.

Application filed April 23, 1888. Serial No. 271.528. (No model.)

' or, in other words, the improved jaws or wipers may be employed indifferent styles of lasting-machine, though designed more particularlyfor a machine for which application for patent was made in the jointnames of Paine, Gray, and Pettee on the 12th day of November, 1887,Serial No. 254,997.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective viewof so much of a lasting-machine as is necessary to a clear onderstanding of my present invention; Fig. 2, a perspective view of jawson a larger scale, and Fig. 3 a perspective view of said jaws turnedwith their under faces upward.

The improved jaws are designed to act upon the leather at the toe orheel, or at both toe and heel, of a shoe, and their purpose is tosmoothly fold said upper over upon the insole, acting first at themiddle, then at each side thereof, gathering the leather in narrow foldsor pipings, drawing it taut,and finally ironing or smoothing out thefolds or pipings flatly and evenly.

The drawings show the side lasting or folding jaws, A A, of alasting-machine provided with overhanging lugs or lips a, which latterserve as bearings and as guides for the heel and toe jaws B B, the saidside jaws and the heel and toe jaws being each independently carried bya supportingbar, 0, preferably in the form of a toothed rack, to beadvanced and receded by a similarly-toothed sector or pinion, in amanner that will be readily understood and is fully explained in theapplication above referred to. As such mechanism forms no part of thepresent invention,it need not be further described or referred toherein.

The jaws B B are pivoted to an intermediate block or plate, D,which,when the jaws are opened away from each other, projects somewhatin advance of or beyond their inner hear ing edges or faces, as shown inFig. 3, and the forward edge of this plate D is rounded or beveled onthe lower side and furnished with notches b,which extend backwardsomedistance along the under face of the plate, all the edges beingrounded ofi to prevent marring or injury of the upper leather. The jawsB B are similarly notched or corrugated, the notches in the severalparts gradually lessening in depth until they terminate or merge intothe plane under faces of said parts.

E E are two coiled wire springs, each of which has one end attached toone of the jaws B, and its other end attached to the bar 0, by which thejaws are carried, or to other convenient support, the springs being solocated and arranged as to exert a constant tendency to open the jawsaway from each other, as indicated.

To permit the adjustment of the jaws to any desired plane according tothe form of the last, the plate or block D is furnished with aperforated lug, c, which enters a slot in the end of bar 0, and isconnected with said bar by a pin or bolt, cl, passing through thebar andthrough lug 0, though obviously other forms of joint may be adopted, ifpreferred.

The size, number, and arrangement of the notches or corrugations of thejaws and of plate D may be varied as desired, being controlled in ameasure by the character of the upper to be lasted. I contemplate insome cases arranging them in groups and in others employing a continuousseries, while for very light and soft leather it may be advantageous toomit them entirely. The inner or operative edges of the jaws arepreferably made straight, or nearly so, from their inner ends to neartheir outer ends, where they preferably curve outward, as indicated; butthe outer edges curve considerably, giving to the inner ends of the jawsa greater width than is possessed by the outer ends. Ihis widening ofthe jaws near their pivots gives due strength and stiff ness, and alsodetermines the rate of movement of the jaws toward each other when theend jaws, the side jaws, or both the end and the side jaws are advanced,their approach being due to their riding between the guidelngs a, or bythe pressure of said lugs against the jaws B B when the jaws A A areadvanced toward each other, or by the joint movement of the jaws A andB.

In practice the jaws A and B are sometimes simultaneously advanced orreceded and sometimes successively actuated; hence the foregoingexplanation.

The action of the jaws B B and plate D is as follows, whether the jaws Aand B be simultaneously or successively actuated: The last, with theupper leather and insole in position upon it, is placed in thelasting-machine and the upper is preferably, though not of necessity,stretched by special stretching mechanism independentof thejawsA and B;but in either case the edges of the upper project past the outer face ofthe insole, as in Fig. 1, at the same time that the jaws B begin theiroperation. The bar 0, to which plate D is attached, then advances,and,bearing upon the upper at the toe of the last, carries it forwardover the insole, the notches or corrugations causing the leather to becreased or folded in the form of pipings or flutings, thus taking up theslack leather at that point and distributing the surplus evenlythroughout the width of plate D. This occurs before the jawsB begin toact upon the upper, owing to the projection of the plate D beyond theinner edges of said jaws, and when the slack is thus fairly gathered thejaws B begin to act upon the upper at the corners of the toe or at eachside of the portion acted upon by plate D, performing a like operationat said points. As the plate 1) ad vances,its flat under face rides uponand over the pipings or flutings formed by its notched edge and irons orsmooths them down flatly and evenly, and

the jaws B P, swinginginward,perform a like oiiice. In this way and bythis means I am enabled to take up the slack orsurplus leather at thetoe and to lay it smoothly and evenly upon the insole with case andcertainty. The

heel-jaws act in the same manner, and hence a separate description oftheir operation is unnecl ssary.

If it be deemed unnecessary to provide for varying the plane of actionof the jaws B B,

the plate D may be formed upon or as an integral part of the supportingand actuating bar 0, by which the jaws B B are carried; but theconstruction above set forth is preferred.

The jaws B may move between stationary guides similar to the lugs a, andmay be used independently of any sidejaws whatsoever. v Having thusdescribed .my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a lasting-machine, thecombination, with side jaws provided with lugs or guides, of end jawsconsisting of two independent blades or wipers, B, movablebetwcen thelugs or guides, and an intermediate plate or block, D, projecting beyondthe inner edges of the blades or wipers B, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In combination with a movable supporting-bar, plate or blockl),carried thereby,jaws B B, pivotally attached to said plate or block,and guides arranged at the outer edges of the jaws, substantially asdescribed and shown.

3. In combination with a supporting-bar, plate D, and jaws B B, carriedby said bar, and springs extending from the jaws to the bar and servingto draw the jaws apart. 4. In combination with bar 0, plate D, pivotallyconnected with said bar, jaws B B, pivotally secured to said plate, andsprings E E, attached to said jaws and servingto draw them away fromeach other.

5. In alasting-machine, in combination with plate D, having its forwardedge provided with notches,jaws B B, having their inner edges likewiseprovided with notches.

6. The combination of jaws A A, provided with lugs a a, bar 0, plate D,carried by said bar, jaws B B. pivotally attached to plate D, andsprings E E, extending from barG to jaws B B and serving tohold thelatter in contact with the lugs a a.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

THOMAS OBOLGER.

XVitnesscs:

HENRY M. GooDHUE, HENRY S. REDFIELD.

